Awesome Stephen Hawking Books for Kids Who Love Space & Science

On Wednesday, the scientific community—and the world, too—woke up to some incredibly sad news: Stephen Hawking had died in the early hours of Wednesday morning at his home in Cambridge, England. Hawking was a noted physicist, Cambridge professor and was known as a man who lived against the odds throughout his entire life, especially after developing ALS at the age of 22. He was 76.

From his groundbreaking book, A Brief History of Time, to his empowering life story portrayed by Eddie Redmayne in the 2014 biopic, The Theory of Everything, to his much-loved cameo appearance on The Simpsons, Hawking has permeated much of our generation’s understanding of space, time, quantum physics—and even the power to overcome immense personal challenges with inspirational aplomb.

Here’s our round-up of the best Stephen Hawking kids books to inspire your own pint-sized physicist at home.

All About Stephen Hawking

Part of the popular All About series of biographies for children, All About Stephen Hawking gives readers ages 8 to 12 years old a fantastic overview of not just Stephen Hawking's life, but of his contributions to science.

Stephen Hawking (Against the Odds Biography)

Yet another non-fiction book for readers in grades 3 through 6, this Against the Odds biography tells "the amazing stories of inspiring people who have made a difference and changed the world, despite the odds stacked against them," according to the publisher.

The Living Einstein: The Stephen Hawking Story

One of the most recent kid's biographies about Stephen Hawking is The Living Einstein: The Stephen Hawking Story, published in September 2017 as part of the "Dissected Lives" series of biographies. The book description reads, "He experimented, studied and explored anything and everything from the physical world to the cosmos. Be inspired by his story. Learn from his discoveries."

George's Secret Key to the Universe

Stephen Hawking, along with his daughter Lucy, wrote a series of young adult science fiction books. The first book in their series, George's Secret Key to the Universe, introducers readers aged 8 to 12 to the world of a scientist named George, his daughter, and a supercomputer named Cosmos.

George's Cosmic Treasure Hunt

George and the Big Bang

In the third installment of Stephen and Lucy Hawking's George's Secret Key series, the scientist and his pals take on enemies while getting to the most exciting moment in the universe—the very start of it all!

George and the Unbreakable Code

The fourth George's Secret Key book has protagonists George and Annie "off on another cosmic adventure to figure out why strange things are happening on Earth," according to the publisher. You can read a free story, "George and the Cosmic Doorway," from the book at The Sun, courtesy of its Get Kids Reading campaign in 2014.

George and the Blue Moon

The fifth George's Secret Key book was just published in November 2017, a mere four months before Hawking's death. No word yet if there are futureGeorge's Secret Key manuscripts from Stephen and Lucy Hawking that might be published posthumously.